If you suffer an injury due to the negligence of someone else, you usually have a personal injury claim. You can take your case to court and get compensation for your medical costs and other financial losses.
If you suffer an injury at work, you must go through the workers’ compensation system, which is much different than filing a personal injury lawsuit. FindLaw explains that workers’ compensation is a system by which you can easily get compensation for your injuries. It also protects employers from lawsuits, which take time and cost money.
Benefits of workers’ compensation
If you file a personal injury lawsuit, it will take time until you can recoup any money the incident cost you, such as lost wages and payments for medical care. With workers’ compensation, you can begin receiving medical benefits right away, and you could qualify for lost wage payments rather quickly as well.
The workers’ compensation system was set up to help avoid lawsuits. It protects employers financially in the event of workers’ injuries. It also allows you to bypass the long wait and potential that the court will not rule in your favor. You do not have to prove anything about your injuries through the system as you would in a court, which greatly speeds up the process.
Personal injury or workers’ compensation
You cannot sue your employer for a work injury in most cases. Once you suffer an injury, you begin a workers’ compensation claim instead. There are very limited situations in which you could also file a personal injury lawsuit.
Of course, if your injury is not something that happened at work or that falls under workers’ compensation coverage, then you very well may file a personal injury lawsuit against the responsible party.